Crysx Crystals
Crysx Crystals (commonly pronounced as either "Crysks" or "Crys-Ex") are a type of Terrain Special - specifically one of the Minerals. They appear on the overland map as a group of bright-yellow crystalline shapes. Crysx Crystals are found only in Deserts, and only on the plane of Myrror. They are never found on Arcanus. If the Crysx Crystals tile is within the catchment area of a Town, that town will produce an extra , added directly to the town's owner's Power level. This bonus is doubled if the town has a Miners' Guild present. Crysx Crystals cannot be targeted by the Transmute spell, and thus cannot be changed into any other Mineral. They can however be removed from a tile by raising a Volcano in that tile. Corruption temporarily removes the bonus that Crysx Crystals give to nearby towns. Description Quork Crystals are not the only magical crystals found in the worlds of Master of Magic. Though they project a great deal of , Quork Crystals are not perfectly-formed. One type of crystal does, however, manage to give off tremendous amounts of magical energy: the Crysx Crystals. These crystals are shaped so perfectly for the purpose of channeling energy that a single deposit of Crysx Crystals will give off more than a whole Cathedral full of worshipers. As a result, Crysx Crystals are an extremely valuable commodity. Sadly, they are found only on the plane of Myrror where they form naturally out of the earth. Crysx Crystals are bright yellow in color. They are so bright that they are easy to spot even on the sands of the Myrran Deserts where they are found. A single Crysx Crystals tile is reason enough to set up a Settlement nearby - even if it has no hope of growing to any respectable size or productiveness. Initial Placement and Terrain When a new game begins, Crysx Crystals are placed in random locations throughout the plane of Myrror - and always on top of Desert tiles. Crysx Crystals will never appear on the plane of Arcanus, as conditions there are simply not fit for producing this mineral naturally. On Myrror, Crysx Crystals are surprisingly common - at least compared to some of the other Minerals. Nonetheless, there will probably be fewer samples of Crysx Crystals than Quork Crystals. Again, you will never find Crysx Crystals on Arcanus. The only way to remove Crysx Crystals from a tile is to raise a new Volcano underneath them. This permanently removes Crysx Crystals from the tile - and they cannot be restored. Volcanoes can be created using either the Raise Volcano or Armageddon spells. Mineral Effects Crysx Crystals are a Mineral, and thus provide a bonus to nearby towns. A town with Crysx Crystals within its catchment area produces . Power Bonus For each Crysx Crystals tile within a town's catchment area, that town will produce an extra . This Power is similar to that produced innately by the citizens of some races, by the wizard's Fortress, or gathered from Nodes. Like any other Power it can be invested freely into generation of , Research of new spells, or increasing the wizard's Spell Skill. On its own, a single Crysx Crystals tile gives more than a Cathedral - and has no Upkeep Costs or other drawbacks associated with it. Therefore it is absolutely imperative to try and place new Settlements near these minerals. Even if a town has no hope of growing beyond a few citizens (remember that Crysx Crystals appear in Deserts), the presence of such a tiny town is sufficient to draw power from this mineral - and thus alone justifies the town's existence. Shared Tiles It is possible to build two towns close enough together that their catchment areas overlap. Shared tiles are marked by a red "1/2" label, seen in each town's details screen. When a Crysx Crystals mineral occupies a shared tile, it will give half of its benefit to each town. Therefore, each town's output is increased by only instead of . This usually gives the same end result as one town with - except when Miners' Guilds are involved (see below). Note that it is quite possible for this state to change during play, as new towns are established and existing towns are destroyed. The Crysx Crystals tile's bonuses will be redistributed automatically in such events. Miners' Guild Bonus When a Miners' Guild is erected in a town that has access to Crysx Crystals, the output of each Crysx Crystals tile in its vicinity is doubled. Therefore, a single Crysx Crystals tile will produce for such a town instead of just . This is roughly as much as is produced by a Node on the plane of Arcanus - and requires only a town with a Miners' Guild in it. This is the reason why Crysx Crystals are considered so valuable, and should be exploited immediately whenever they are found. If two towns share the same Crysx Crystals tile between them, and only one town has a Miners' Guild, the total being produced by both these towns thanks to the Crysx Crystals is . If both towns acquire a Miners' Guild, they will together produce as normal. Transmutation Crysx Crystals cannot be targeted by the Transmute spell. Therefore, it is not possible to change Crysx Crystals into another type of Mineral. There would be no reason to change them either - they are that valuable! Corruption The Corruption spell can be cast on a tile containing Crysx Crystals. In such an event, both the Crysx Crystals itself as well as the tile it's on will cease providing any bonuses to nearby towns. To combat this, send Shamans or Priests to Purify the affected tile immediately. If several tiles are Corrupted, Crysx Crystals tiles usually have the highest priority for Purification. Several spells, including Gaia's Blessing and Consecration, may also help if they are available. Category:Terrain Specials Category:Minerals